The son of a Czech immigrant born and raised in Whiting, "Bull" Sotak played basketball in High
School at Catholic Central, and then played four seasons in the NBL. He began working at the Whiting Standard Oil Refinery in 1939 and
worked there until 1980. He also served in the Coast Guard during World
War 2. He married Vernamae Spisak (1918-2008) in 1941 and the couple had
a daughter, Emily Ann Huizenga, and three sons, Mark, Ralph (1946-1972)
and David (1951-2007). He died at his home in Whiting in 2007.